openly flirts with teenaged son Ben but sold away and later escaped to fireedom with the front lines but is denied the opportu- never crosses the line. Ultimately, they are none other than Huckleberry Finn (a sur- nity because he's black and a burnout spirits, but the sensitive and artis- prising detail that is not further developed). army rabbi who cannot perceive a caring tic Ben follows his own dreams, though he Sadie was later sold away from her children, God in the horror that surrounds him. Ex- prefers to keep them to himself.The first- neither of whom survived to freedom. As cept for the last 50 pages, this plot device person narration alternates among the Sadie tells this story, she clearly depicts both works, especially when Robbins describes three characters, which makes for a brisk her inner life and the details of her daily ex- the everyday grind of his protagonists' though never choppy pace. Published in istence.The intimate and immediate nature lives. OveraU, a commendable though not Ireland in 1987 and Nelson's first book to of the narrative draws the reader quickly essential addition to the literature ofWorld be published here, this is a riveting story of into Sadie's story of physical and emotional War II; recommended for general coUec- how family bonds are tried and tested. pain. Rawles won the American Book tions.—David Keymer, iVIodesto, CA Academic and public libraries emphasizing Award for her first novel. Love Like Gumbo; contemporary fiction will want to add this new work is highly recommended for RUDAN, VEDRANA. Night. Daikey Archive. this title.—Lisa Nussbaum, Dauphin Cty. Lib. Syst., allYA and academic fiction coUections.— 2004. c.212p. tr. from Croatian by Celia Harrisburg, PA Rebecca Stuhr, Grinneil Coil. Libs., lA Hawkeswortb. ISBN 1-56478-347-2. pap. $13.95. F , RICHARD NORTH. RIMINGTON, STELLA. At Risk. Knopf. Jan. Ah, the tricky nature of translation. On the Conviction. Random. Jan. 2005. c.512p. 2005. c.367p. ISBN 1-4000-4370-0. one hand, it brings you closer to a world ISBN 0-345-45019-1. $25.95. F $24.95. F that may otherwise be inscrutable; on the No one would ever accuse Patterson of Rimington, former director general of other, it forever limits your reading expe- avoiding hot topics: Balance of Power and Britain's security service MI5, introduces rience. This American debut by a popular Protect and Defend considered gun control us to Liz Carlyle, a young, hip, and in- Croatian writer epitomizes the problem. and late-term abortion, respectively, while credibly intuitive counterterrorism intelli- Although admirable, the translation does- this novel takes on death penalty convic- gence officer. Working out of London, Liz n't quite convey the fury of the protago- tions. Fifteen years ago, brothers Rennell receives troubling information that leads nist in the original (admittedly, the Croa- and Payton Price were sentenced to death her to the coast to investigate a fisherman's tian language is weU endowed with pro- for the brutal murder of nine-year-old homicide. Initially, the case seems con- fanities). StiU, her pain is universal, as is the Thuy Sen. Now, as Rennell's scheduled nected to a local smuggling ring, but the story's appeal. Tonka, a middle-aged, an- execution approaches, pro bono lawyer military assault—style murder weapon tifeminist feminist, spends an entire night Theresa Peralta Page (also seen in Eyes of arouses Liz's suspicions. Her fear grows as in front of the TV, rambling to an imagi- a Child), along with her attorney husband information trickles in: nearby are two nary audience about her grievances about and attorney stepson, takes his final appeal members of the Islamic Terror Syndicate (a her own life and the world around her. She all the way to the Supreme Court. At the Pakistani fighter and an unidentified is a freethinking woman who (finally) same time,Theresa deals with her troubled British female), leaving dead bodies, aban- doesn't give a damn, but she is also a vic- teenage daughter and her own guilt.While doned vehicles, and homemade bomb fix- tim of a hypocritical society to which she it is apparent that the author opposes the ings in their wake. But where are they has no choice but to succumb. This novel death penalty, Patterson nevertheless pro- now, and what is their ultimate target? De- was hugely popular in Croatia, and right- vides compelling evidence for both sides spite a few dropped story lines, the author fuUy so: it not only reaffirms a fiercely of the argument. In his sure hands, this fas- pulls off an exciting thriller with nods to provocative literary voice but might also cinating and often agonizing in-depth Ken Follett's style and Evelyn Anthony's announce the arrival (or revival) of an in- look at the death-penalty process becomes heroines.Women authors and protagonists spiring genre where language makes aU the a personal journey for the lawyers, the are rare in the British intelligence genre, rules while tragedy and comedy linger in- convicted, and the reader. Highly recom- and this debut has series potential. Rec- distinguishable. Highly recommended.^ mended for all public libraries. [See Pre- ommended for popular fiction coUections. iVIireia Roncevic, Library Journal pub Alert, Lf 9/1/04.]—Stacy Aiesi, Palm [See Prepub Alert, Lf 9/1 /04.]—Teresa L. Ja- Beach Cty. Lib. Syst., Boca Raton, FL cobsen, Santa iVIonIca P.L., CA SCHONSTEIN, PATRICIA. A Time of Angels. Morrow. Dec. 2004. c.223p. ISBN 0-08- RAWLES, NANCY. My Jim. Crown. Jan. ROBBINS, DAVID L. Liberation Road. 056242-0. $24.95. F 2005. c.176p. ISBN 1-4000-5400-1. Bantam. Jan. 2005. c.445p. ISBN 0-553- Soothsayer Primo Verona's life unravels $19.95. F 80175-9. $25. F when his wife leaves him for his best Told entirely in dialect, this first-person nar- In the months foUowing the Normandy friend, Pasquale Benvenuto, maker of the rative features Sadie, a third-generation invasion of 1944, 6000 trucks and 23,000 best salamis and baker of the most succu- slave emancipated during the Civil War. men (the Red Ball Express) shuttled hun- lent fruited breads in aU of Capetown. Sadie is making a quilt with her grand- dreds of thousands of tons of supplies be- Primo, not used to wielding bad magic, daughter, Marianne Libre, who was born tween the beachheads and the front lines. curses Pasquale's shoes, which causes the free and must decide whether to marry and Without these supplies, the Allied advance laces to continuaUy unravel—nothing a move away or remain with the grand- would have stopped short; the war, brutal pair of loafers can't fix. He also concocts a mother who raised her.This inspires Sadie enough as it was, would have been longer more serious curse that he puts on hold for to tell the story of her own separation and and even more costly. The of Rob- a later date; however, it manages to unleash loss. It is Sadie's story, but it is an archetypal bins's {The End of War) novel are neither itself with disastrous results. This work story likely shared in some form by most the generals nor the front-line soldiers. In- delves into the past lives of its richly drawn slaves. In particular, Sadie recalls her hus- stead, they include a driver on the Red characters as well as those of their ances- band,Jim, and their two children.Jim was Ball Express who wants fiercely to fight on tors, Italian Jews who survived the Holo-

102 I LIBRARYJOURNAL I DECEMBER 2004